Kicking off 2014

One of our aims for the second half of our European travels is to find new ways of maximizing our travel experiences. A bit of research led us to this website that cleverly connects travelers who want to work on desired projects in desired locations around the world in exchange for meals, lodging and a local cultural experience, with hosts who can provide just that. This concept isn’t new and we’ve toyed with this idea several times before. Turning this into reality was just one big step we had to take to challenge ourselves further.

We are incredibly lucky to have found a French family who were willing to take us in for a couple of weeks to work on renovating their estate with ambitious plans to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast in the South West part of France, close to Bordeaux. Not many projects were running during the winter season and we were focused solely on finding hosts in France because of our keen interest in the language and culture.

We are halfway through our time here and it has been an enriching and rewarding experience, to say the least. We feel very much a part of the family especially during meal times and the solitude and peace from being surrounded by the countryside outweigh any of the hard yards we’ve had to put in. We’ve learned a thing or two about the types of work involved in such an ambitious project, and are left in awe of the vision and determination of this small family who simply want to live their dream. We’ve also been exposed to the many facets of the simple rural French lifestyle and there are parts of it that we wish to take with us into our future home and family.

So here you go, a little update from us to kick off 2014. Happy new year!

All pictures are of the estate which is a working progress and the surrounding countryside of Saint-Thomas-de-Conac.